Plane-A-Palooza: Stress-free by design

Supersizing the Fly Pueblo Paper Airplane Contest into Plane-A-Palooza may have caused stress for some children, and for that I apologize.

Yes, there are eight or nine events that make up this summer’s contest, so that means it could be difficult, if not impossible, to pick a grand prize winner.

However, there are lots of little prizes along the way, not the least of which is the sheer variety of activity.

To answer some questions:

You are not required to register for any of the events in advance.

There will be materials at each site to make your own planes or otherwise participate.

The rules for each event will be published the Monday before the event.

There are no age limits.

There will be prizes.

In scouting out each of the sites for the contest, my main objective was to have a little fun. In the course of this, my sponsors and I have expanded the horizon of what an airplane contest could be. I also worked with partners at each site to enhance what’s already going on there, while tailoring the types of contests to those activities.

Which is to say, for years I have been doing too much of the same thing. And doing it wrong. Sorry about that.

Beginning this week, I will begin introducing the new activities with a short write-up and photos from my fieldwork. Conveniently, there will be two events each week, as well as continuous events, so we’ll spread out the narrative.

This week, let’s look at the design contest.

I met with Buell Children’s Museum Curator Donna Stinchcomb in hopes of upgrading the design portion of the paper airplane contest, and she was extremely enthusiastic. In fact, on the day of the interview, she had folded a very lovely plane from the Full Steam Ahead flier advertising the summer-long event at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center.

She added a little bird drawn by Ann Yaeger, artist-in-residence, along with a handlebar mustache on the nose of the plane.

The mustache is a nod to Steampunk, which is the theme for the summer at the Buell museum. Steampunk is a genre of science fiction that features steam-powered machinery rather than high-tech gadgets. Its appeal has created a large cult of costumed creativity — think Victorian garments designed by welders and decorated by 18th-century jewelers.

What we’re going to do is allow planes to be designed between June 7 and July 5, and put them on display — or at least on a shelf — in the craft area of the Buell museum. Judging will be at 2 p.m. July 5, with the winners receiving instant fame and glory, as well as prizes.

Planes may be made using the ginormous scrap box of materials at the museum, or in the privacy of your own laboratory.

As usual, there is no requirement for design planes to actually fly. Size is irrelevant. They must include paper, but other household materials such as cloth, string, buttons, faucets or valves may be incorporated. Try to use recycled materials. Extra points for imagination.

Judging will be, as usual, absolutely arbitrary, but this year we hope to incorporate the opinions of at least a few real artists into the mix.